The 16-hour sting, conducted by the Bell County Sheriff’s Department, resulted in the arrests of 20 men who responded to online ads offering sexual service in exchange for money. The conversations were then continued over text message through which locations and times were arranged and payments negotiated, based on what the men wanted. According to the sheriff’s office, the rates ranged from $60 to $200.

"Sheriff deputies and investigators stay and waited for the individuals to make contact and then agree to meet in person to pay for sex and ladies and gentlemen it did not take long," Lange said. "Once an ad was placed, I think the shortest time was about 20 minutes before they had the first contact so again this is a very viable institution here in Bell County that we intend on trying to put a dent in."

AP Photo/ Tamir Kalifa

"Allegations such as these are taken seriously as they run counter to Army values,” Tom Rheinlander, director of Fort Hood Public Affairs, said in a statement on Tuesday. “As always, we are supportive of local authorities and will cooperate fully. Fort Hood will refrain from commenting further given that this is an ongoing investigation."

All 20 men are now being charged with solicitation of prostitution and two may face felony charges for specifically responding to ads for prostitutes under the age of 18. One man had his wife and mother in the car waiting in the hotel parking lot, according to the sheriff’s department, although it is unclear if he is a soldier or a civilian.

The names of 12 soldiers involved in the sting were released by the sheriff’s office and are listed below:

GREENBELT, Md. (Reuters) - A U.S. Coast Guard lieutenant accused of amassing a cache of weapons and plotting to attack Democratic politicians and journalists was ordered held for two weeks on Thursday while federal prosecutors consider charging him with more crimes.

Attorneys for the Constitutional Law Center for Muslims in America have filed a lawsuit against Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Attorney General William Barr and President Donald Trump asking the court to recognize the citizenship of an Alabama woman who left the U.S. to join ISIS and allow she and her young son to return to the United States.

U.S. soldiers surveil the area during a combined joint patrol in Manbij, Syria, November 1, 2018. Picture taken November 1, 2018. (U.S. Army/Zoe Garbarino/Handout via Reuters)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States will leave "a small peacekeeping group" of 200 American troops in Syria for a period of time after a U.S. pullout, the White House said on Thursday, as President Donald Trump pulled back from a complete withdrawal.

With a legal fight challenge mounting from state governments over the Trump administration's use of a national emergency to construct at the U.S.-Mexico border, the president has kicked his push for the barrier into high gear.

On Wednesday, President Trump tweeted a time-lapse video of wall construction in New Mexico; the next day, he proclaimed that "THE WALL IS UNDER CONSTRUCTION RIGHT NOW"

But there's a big problem: The footage, which was filmed more than five months ago on Sep. 18, 2018, isn't really new wall construction at all, and certainly not part of the ongoing construction of "the wall" that Trump has been haggling with Congress over.

A group comprised of former U.S. military veterans and security contractors who were detained in Haiti on weapons charges has been brought back to the United States and arrested upon landing, The Miami-Herald reported.

The men — five Americans, two Serbs, and one Haitian — were stopped at a Port-au-Prince police checkpoint on Sunday while riding in two vehicles without license plates, according to police. When questioned, the heavily-armed men allegedly told police they were on a "government mission" before being taken into custody.